Affordable Housing: Disability

Gerry Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether he has any plans to amend the operation or rules of the home ownership for people with long-term disabilities scheme to make it more responsive to the delays and logistical challenges of selling property as part of the scheme for the purposes of ensuring those who access the scheme as owner-occupiers in housing need are not disadvantaged;
	(2)  what proportion of people who have sought to access the home ownership for people with long-term disabilities scheme as owner-occupiers in housing need, have been unable to complete the process of moving to a new property due to the delays and logistical challenges of selling their property as part of accessing the scheme since the inception of the scheme;
	(3)  what proportion of people who have been provided with assistance through the home ownership for people with long-term disabilities scheme have been owner-occupiers in housing need rather than first-time buyers to date.

Kris Hopkins: This Government is committed to promoting choice and providing housing opportunities for people with long-term disabilities, enabling them to live independent lives. We have no immediate plans to amend the operation or rules around the Home Ownership for People with Long-term Disabilities scheme.
	As with all home purchases, choice and speed of completion may be impacted by the number of providers and the availability of suitable properties in a particular area.
	We do not retain information concerning unsuccessful applications for the Home Ownership for People with Long-term Disabilities scheme. However, between 2007-08 and 2012-13, 160 sales by private registered providers were recorded under the scheme. Of these, 150 purchasers were first-time buyers. We do not hold information on sales by local authorities.
	The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme gives people the opportunity to a new build property with just a 5% deposit. In Budget 2014, the Chancellor announced the extension of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme to 2020, investing a further £6 billion to help 120,000 more households to purchase a home.

Census

Simon Danczuk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what monitoring mechanisms his Department uses to inform policy making and priority setting to reduce inequalities for ethnic communities not recognised on the national census.

Stephen Williams: The Department for Communities and Local Government considers equality issues in exercising its functions, including in setting priorities within its budget, in order to comply with equality legislation and to ensure it understands how its activities will affect specific groups in society. It takes a proportionate approach to assessing equality which is properly considered from the outset with a simple audit trail.
	The Government is clear that producing formal equality impact assessment documents is not required in order to ensure compliance with the legal responsibility to consider equality impacts.
	In February 2012, DCLG published “Creating the conditions for integration” setting out our approach to achieving a more integrated society. Together with the Equality Strategy and the Social Mobility Strategy this is a three part approach to tackling disadvantage and inequality across all communities.

Council Tax Reduction Schemes: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people in (a) Denton and Reddish constituency, (b) Tameside Metropolitan Borough and (c) Stockport Metropolitan Borough are (i) entitled to and (ii) receiving council tax relief.

Brandon Lewis: The Department has published experimental statistics which show the number of claimants receiving council tax support in 2013-14. These statistics are produced using information provided by local authorities on the Revenue Budget returns. No figures are available for parliamentary constituencies.
	
		
			 Local authority Number of pensioners in receipt of council tax support Number of working age claimants in receipt of council tax support Total number of claimants in receipt of council tax support 
			 Stockport 11,431 12,986 24,417 
			 Tameside1 — — — 
			 1 Tameside did not complete this section of their return so no figures are available for this area. 
		
	
	These statistics are also available on the Department's website via the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/257016/RA_2013-14_LCTS_Publication.xls
	Spending on council tax benefit doubled under the last Government, costing taxpayers. £4 billion a year—equivalent to almost £180 a year per household. Welfare reform is vital to tackle the budget deficit left by the last Administration. Our reforms to localise council tax support now give councils stronger incentives to support local firms, cut fraud, promote local enterprise and get people into work. We are ending the last Administration's 'something for nothing' culture and making work pay.

Landlords

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will introduce a national register of landlords; and what steps his Department is taking to make it easier for local authorities to introduce a licensing scheme for landlords.

Kris Hopkins: The overwhelming majority of landlords provide a good service and the Government does not want to impose unnecessary additional costs on them. We have no plans to introduce a national register which would be a financial burden on all landlords estimated at £40 million per year. Those costs would be passed on to tenants through higher rents. Local authorities can already introduce a licensing scheme where an area is suffering from anti-social behaviour and/or low housing demand. We recently published a discussion paper, “Review of Property Conditions in the Private Rented Sector”, which invited views on ways in which licensing can be made more effective and proportionate.

Local Government: Disclosure of Information

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will take steps to ensure that the minutes of the board meetings of (a) external organisations, (b) trusts and (c) other arm's length companies operating public services on behalf of local authorities are made available for public scrutiny.

Brandon Lewis: The Government has no plans to require all companies who do business with local authorities to publish minutes of their board meetings.
	However, we encourage all councils to be transparent about the services provided for them by the private sector. Through our revised transparency code for local authorities to be published shortly, we plan to increase transparency about the receipt of public money by private companies, by requiring local authorities to publish all spending over £500 and all contracts over £5,000.
	We also plan to consult on increasing financial transparency for companies and other entities which an authority owns or has a significant influence over.
	The Government also intends to issue a revised Code of Practice for all public authorities (under section 45 of the Freedom of Information Act) to promote openness about contracted out public services, including through the use and enforcement of contractual transparency provisions.

Road Signs and Markings

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on the use of apostrophes on street signs.

Brandon Lewis: Recent press reports have highlighted there is a misconception in some parts of local government that there is a requirement to remove apostrophes from street names and street signs. This is not the case; I can confirm that there is no Whitehall rule or Brussels diktat demanding the abolition of the English apostrophe.
	I understand this may stem from a misunderstanding of guidance issued by the Geoplace National Land and Property Gazetteer which is overseen by local government. However, Geoplace has confirmed that it does not require councils to remove apostrophes either—councils can continue to use apostrophes and punctuation if they are used in the official street name.
	In turn, street names may not be changed unilaterally. Acts of Parliament have required the consent of local people before a street name can be changed. For example, extant legislation in the form of section 21 of the Public Health Acts Amendment Act 1907 states that councils cannot change a formal street name without the consent of two-thirds of the street's ratepayers.
	One of the spurious reasons for abolishing apostrophes has been the suggestion that they may cause confusion for emergency services' IT systems. If mankind can put a man on the moon, split the atom and decode the double helix, then I am sure it is not beyond the reach of 21st century technology to have a sat-nav which can understand an apostrophe.
	While street naming is ultimately a matter for local councils, Ministers' view is that both England's apostrophes and grammar should be cherished. If an apostrophe is good enough for Her Majesty's Government, so should it be for local councils.
	While we would not go as far as endorsing the 'grammar guerrillas' who recently re-inserted the missing punctuation on Cambridge city council's dumbed-down street signs (defacing a street sign is an offence under the 1907 Act), we would encourage residents to defend their traditional place names from over-zealous municipal pen pushers. I hope the guidance in this answer assists the worthy cause of common sense.

Children: Maintenance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2014, Official Report, column 316W, on children: maintenance, in how many cases within the Child Support Agency collection service, excluding those with a deduction from earnings order, the agency was notified of a missed child maintenance payment in the quarter up to and including December 2013; and in what proportion of such cases the non-resident parent was contacted by the Agency within 72 hours.

Steve Webb: There are currently three statutory maintenance schemes. The 1993 and 2003 schemes are delivered by the Child Support Agency and the 2012 scheme is delivered by the Child Maintenance Service.
	In all schemes, our aim is to act within 72 hours of when we are notified of a missed payment where there is a current liability. The notification trigger comes after a five day tolerance period of a missed payment. This tolerance period is to allow for issues which may have caused the missed payment to be resolved (ie clearances through bank accounts) without the need for our intervention. While this trigger is built into the design for the 2012 system, there is no comparable automated process for the 1993 and 2003 systems.
	As such, information on (a) the number of notifications of a missed child maintenance payment in cases within the Child Support Agency collection service and (b) the proportion of such cases where the non-resident parent was contacted by the Agency within 72 hours is not available as it is not routinely recorded for management information purposes. To provide this information would require the creation of new information which could be completed and appropriately assured only at a disproportionate cost.

Statutory Sick Pay

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect on the ability of older and disabled workers to find work as a result of the abolition of the Percentage Threshold Scheme for recovering statutory sick pay.

Michael Penning: The Statutory Sick Pay Percentage Threshold Scheme is not linked to finding work, rather it compensates employers with high levels of sickness absence. An independent review of sickness absence1 found that this scheme does nothing to tackle the causes of absence. As a result, the Government accepted a recommendation in the review to abolish the Percentage Threshold Scheme. The Government also accepted a recommendation to establish a service (now known as the Health and Work Service) to offer specialist occupational health assessment and advice to employers, employees and GPs. The service is designed to reduce the costs of sickness absence for employers by addressing the issues preventing a return to work, and supporting employees back to work as quickly as appropriate.
	We consider that the creation of the Health and Work Service, funded by the abolition of the Percentage Threshold Scheme, will enable sickness absence to be better managed and improve the employment prospects of all employees, including older and disabled workers.
	1 Black, C. and Frost, D (2011) Health at work-and independent review of sickness absence.

Statutory Sick Pay

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect on the ability of small businesses to manage sickness absence of abolishing the Percentage Threshold Scheme for recovering statutory sick pay.

Michael Penning: The SSP Percentage Threshold Scheme compensates employers with high levels of sickness absence but an independent review of sickness absence1 found it does nothing to tackle the causes of absence. As a result, the Government accepted a recommendation in the review to abolish the Percentage Threshold Scheme. The Government also accepted a recommendation to establish a service (now known as the Health and Work Service) to offer specialist occupational health assessment and advice to employers, employees and GPs. The service is designed to reduce the costs of sickness absence for employers by addressing the obstacles preventing a return to work, and supporting employees back to work as quickly as appropriate. It will be funded from the savings made from the abolition of the PTS and will provide a more proactive way to manage sickness absence.
	Small businesses are least likely to have access to occupational health services, and will benefit from having access to occupational health assessments and advice through the HWS.
	1 Black, C. and Frost, D (2011) “Health at work—and independent review of sickness absence”.

Statutory Sick Pay

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on alternative models of compensating small businesses for sickness absence after the abolition of the percentage threshold scheme for recovering statutory sick pay.

Michael Penning: The Government believes that reinvesting savings from the abolition of the Percentage Threshold Scheme to establish the Health and Work Service is the most effective means of targeting public funds to tackle sickness absence. The Health and Work Service will reduce the length of sickness absence and offers a more proactive approach to sickness absence management. Small businesses are least likely to have access to occupational health services, and will benefit from having access to occupational health assessments and advice through the Health and Work Service.
	We have considered an alternative approach along the lines of restricting access to a reimbursement scheme to employers with fewer than five employees. However, this was discounted because it resulted in additional burdens on employers and additional statutory sick pay reimbursement costs for the state.

Statutory Sick Pay

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the additional cost to small businesses of abolishing the percentage threshold scheme for recovering statutory sick pay.

Michael Penning: The Department for Work and Pensions has published an impact assessment outlining the abolition of the Percentage Threshold Scheme (PTS) and introduction of the new provision of health assessments and occupational health advice available at the following link:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2014/9780111108468/impacts

Support: Hon. Members

Barry Sheerman: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps he is taking to improve the support available to hon. Members.

John Thurso: The fundamental aims of the Commission are not only to ensure that the House is valued and effective in holding the Government to account and scrutinising legislation, but that individual Members have the information, advice, support and technology they need to be effective in their work and to engage closely with their constituents.
	We are coming to the end of a programme of savings, during which the governing principle has been that any cost reductions should not adversely affect the ability of the House and its Members to carry out their parliamentary functions. Indeed many of the changes have been a spur to innovation in the support available to Members. Now that we are on track to achieve the savings target, we have the opportunity to re-appraise the provision of resources and ensure, for example in the area of select committees, that we are providing the right level of support.

Burma

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Burmese counterpart on ensuring that the upcoming census will not further endanger the Rohingya communities and any other minority groups in Burma. [R]

Hugo Swire: During my visit to Burma, 28-30 January 2014, I raised the British Government's deep concerns about the situation in Rakhine State and discussed the census and its associated risks with Minister, in the President's Office U Soe Thane. I also discussed the census with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
	The Burmese Minister for National Planning, U Kan Zaw, visited London 10-13 March: in separate meetings the Minister of State, Department for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr Duncan) and my noble Friend, the Senior Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the right hon. Baroness Warsi, reiterated the importance of pursuing urgent action in Rakhine State to protect the human rights of the Rohingya community.
	The UK is a lead donor to the census; we have been working with other donors, the Burmese Government and the UN to manage and mitigate the risks, to ensure as peaceful, credible and complete a process as possible. In January, our ambassador discussed the census with ethnic armed group leaders in Chiang Mai. The Head of DFID Burma accompanied the Burmese Minister for Immigration and Population on a visit to Rakhine State in February to discuss the census with the Rohingya and Rakhine communities. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office Director for Asia Pacific and the British ambassador discussed the census with Rohingya leaders on 18 March.

Burma

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether Burma's state institutions have the capacity and capability to conduct an independent and transparent investigation into the persecution of, and violence against, minorities in Burma. [R]

Hugo Swire: The Burmese Government has commissioned state-affiliated groups to carry out a number of investigations into incidents of violence and allegations of persecution against minorities in Burma—for example the investigations into the incident in January in Du Chee Yar Tan village in Northern Rakhine State carried out by the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, and by the Myanmar Red Cross. We recognise the efforts of these investigations but remain concerned that their reports are not an independent and complete answer to the allegations that have been made. We have made repeatedly clear that such investigations must be transparent and meet international standards.

Burma

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publicly acknowledge and condemn supporting roles played by the Burmese state in the institutionalisation of persecution and violence against the Rohingya communities in Burma. [R]

Hugo Swire: The Government, both in public and private, sets out our concerns about the plight of the Rohingya community repeatedly and at the highest levels: the situation in Rakhine State was top of the agenda for the meeting between the Prime Minister and President Thein Sein in July 2013. During my visit to Burma in January 2014, I urged the Burmese Government to take swift and decisive action to protect the lives and rights of Rohingya. Where the state government or local authorities have been responsible for discrimination, we have highlighted that the central Burmese Government has a responsibility to ensure the human rights of all communities in Rakhine are consistently protected. We are urging action to address impunity and ensure equitable access to justice, promote coexistence and tolerance, create an environment for displaced people to return to their homes, ensure humanitarian access, and enable a path to citizenship for all eligible Rohingya residents.

Burma

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions she has had with the Burmese government about resolving the issue of the statelessness of the Rohingya population in Myanmar.

Alan Duncan: I met the Burmese Minister of National Planning and Economic Development when he visited London in March. At the meeting I urged the Burmese Government to work for a long-term solution to bring peace, reconciliation, and prosperity to Rakhine state. DFID continues to urge the government of Burma to re-start the citizenship verification process as soon as possible. It has the broad support of both communities in Rakhine and will help to address some of the underlying causes of tension.

Burma

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions she has had with the Burmese government on its commitment to release Rohingya political prisoners held in Buthidaung and Maungdaw prisons.

Alan Duncan: DFID welcomed President Thein Sein's order in December 2013 to release all prisoners and persons facing trial for political offences. However, we are concerned there are individuals in prison whose status is disputed. During the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire)’s visit to Burma at the end of January, he personally raised the issue of political prisoners with Soe Thane, Minister of the President's Office, and urged the Government to release all remaining political prisoners. With Shwe Mann, Speaker of the Lower House, he also raised the issue of activists who are being charged under legislation which is not in line with international standards. We will continue to push the Burmese Government to ensure that its review mechanism is comprehensive and transparent, leading to the release of all political prisoners.

Developing Countries: Family Planning

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to answer to the hon. Member for Foyle of 10 March 2014, Official Report, column 42W, on developing countries: family planning, what empirical bases and methodologies her Department uses in its annual assessment of the extent to which the Government is achieving value for money from its Programme Partnership Arrangement funding to Marie Stopes International and the International Planned Parenthood Federation; how the estimate of 715,929 abortions was arrived at; what meaning is given to unsafe when describing such abortions; and how her Department arrives at an evidence-based understanding of what constitutes an unsafe abortion when no data is collected on the abortions performed by partner organisations.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID's Value for Money assessments of all its Programme Partnership Arrangements, including Marie Stopes International (MSI) and International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF); involves consideration of how they minimise costs and maximise results. Achieved results are compared to pre-agreed outputs and outcomes, and organisations must demonstrate how costs are kept at a proportionate level.
	Estimated numbers of unsafe abortions averted are modelled from collected family planning data entered into the Impact-2 estimator tool, owned by MSI. As with all modelled data the results are approximate. Further information can be found at
	http://www.mariestopes.org/impact-2
	DFID uses the World Health Organisation's (WHO) definition of safe and unsafe abortion; DFID's understanding of abortion levels, safe and unsafe, are guided by WHO data. The most recent estimates of global and regional levels of unsafe abortion and related mortality were published by the WHO in 2012.

Terrorism

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she became aware of the administrative scheme giving on-the-run republican terrorist suspects reassurances that they were no longer being sought for prosecution within the UK: and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 10 March 2014
	As has been made clear by the legal proceedings relating to Mr Downey, an administrative scheme was in operation from around September 2000. This scheme was devised by the previous Government and referred to by the then-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Lord John Reid, in a parliamentary question on 1 July 2002, Official Report, column 163W. The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), assumed office on 11 May 2010 and was alerted following John Downey's arrest at London Gatwick on 19 May 2013.
	This Government does not support an amnesty for people wanted by the police in connection with terrorist offences. The Prime Minister announced on Thursday 27 February that a judge would be appointed to provide an independent review of the administrative scheme by the end of May 2014. The review will produce a full public account of the operation and extent of the scheme.

UN Commission on the Status of Women

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the commitments made in the outcome document of the UN Commission on the Status of Women 2013 outcome document have been met and implemented to date; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: Eliminating and preventing violence against women and girls was the priority theme for the Commission on the Status of Women in 2013. The Coalition Government is committed to fulfilling our obligations to tackle such violence both in the UK and overseas. The cross-Government Action Plan, ‘A Call to End Violence against Women and Girls', was published on 8th March and incorporates key recommendations from the ‘Agreed Conclusions'.

Fuel Poverty: Lancashire

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of people who have been removed from fuel poverty as a result of the energy companies obligation in (a) Lancashire and (b) Pendle constituency.

Gregory Barker: ECO plays a vital role in tackling the principal cause of fuel poverty—energy inefficient housing. The Affordable Warmth and Carbon Saving Communities elements of ECO are specifically directed at tackling fuel poverty. Over time, official statistics will indicate how policies such as ECO are driving up energy efficiency standards in fuel poor homes. However, we cannot estimate the number of individuals or households removed from fuel poverty as a result of a single policy on a regional or constituency basis.
	ECO delivery data is available by administrative area and constituency. The figures for Affordable Warmth and Carbon Saving Communities are:
	
		
			 Area Number of Affordable Warmth measures Number of Carbon Saving Communities measures Total 
			 Lancashire (administrative area) 4,699 1,582 6,281 
			 Pendle (constituency) 563 162 725 
		
	
	These figures have been taken from our most recent report, from December 2013, which relates to ECO delivery up to the end of September 2013.
	This report and future updates are hosted on the ECO and Green Deal statistics website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/green-deal-and-energy-company-obligation-eco-statistics

Nuclear Power Stations

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will suspend co-operation between his Department and the Russian state nuclear company Rosatom on planning for a new nuclear plant.

Michael Fallon: The Government and Rosatom signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Establishing a Programme of Commercial Co-operation in Civil Nuclear Energy in September last year. Decisions on how this work will be taken forward, are under consideration in the light of recent developments in Ukraine.

Railway Stations

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to improve existing railway stations and build new ones.

Stephen Hammond: The Government is providing £100 million to the National Stations Improvement Fund and £100 million for Access for All in the period 2014-19. This is in addition to major investment which is already under way at Birmingham New Street and Reading.
	It is for local transport authorities to identify whether a new station is the best way to meet local transport need and, if so, to secure funding from locally allocated funds such as the Local Growth Fund.

High Speed 2

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure that High Speed 2 represents value for money.

Robert Goodwill: The Government is determined to maximise the transport and wider benefits HS2 delivers for the UK economy. The project already offers high value for money and we have also established the HS2 Growth Task Force to advise is on how to further exploit those benefits. The task force will report on the 21 March.

Rural Bus Services

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to support rural bus services.

Stephen Hammond: The Government remains committed to improving bus services for all and expenditure on buses reflects this. This year, the Government will spend over £1 billion on the concessionary travel entitlement, and over £340 million in direct subsidy to bus operators in England. Over £300 million has been allocated to funding major bus projects in the last year.

Bus Services: Disability

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the answer of 27 February 2012, Official Report, column 151W, on bus services: disability, what steps the Government has taken to ensure that operators comply with the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000.

Stephen Hammond: In order to ensure compliance with the specific requirements of the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000 (PSVAR), the Department for Transport funds inspection work undertaken by vehicle examiners from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. In order to understand overall compliance trends, the Department also monitors latest survey statistics, which as of September 2013 show that 78% of buses in England have PSVAR certificates, while 92% of buses are low floor.

Afghanistan

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to paragraph 39 of the final report of UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism dated 28 February 2014, if he will publish the investigations report on civilian casualties through use of remotely piloted aircraft by the UK in Afghanistan.

Mark Francois: Any incident involving civilian casualties is a matter of deep regret and we take every possible measure to avoid such incidents. The report of UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, dated 28 February 2014, details the only known incident in over 57,000 hours of UK Reaper operations that resulted in the deaths of civilians. This incident took place on 25 March 2011 and resulted in the death of four civilians in addition to two insurgents. An International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) investigation was carried out and concluded that the actions of the Reaper crew had been in accordance with extant procedures and ISAF rules of engagement. As this was an ISAF investigation, any final decision on the reports disclosure sits within the ISAF chain of command.

Dounreay

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which radionuclides were emitted from the Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment at Dounreay following the January 2012 incident; and in what quantities.

Philip Dunne: Discharges from the Naval Reactor Test Establishment have remained well within the limits approved by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. The most up to date figures are from 2012, and are shown in the following tables.
	
		
			 Annual Site Liquid Discharges (MBq) 
			 Type 2012 SEPA approved limit 
			 Cobalt-60 53 15,000 
			 Other Beta 221 5,000 
			 Tritium 21,688 150,000 
		
	
	
		
			 Annual Site Gaseous Discharges (MBq) 
			 Type 2012 SEPA approved limit 
			 Noble Gas 2,157 5,000 
			 Beta Particulate 1.2 5.1

Dounreay

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Commodore at Faslane Naval Base was alerted that collant radioactivity had been detected in the prototype reactor at NRTE Dounreay.

Philip Hammond: The then Naval Base Commander Clyde was briefed in June 2012 on the issue with the reactor at the Naval Reactor Test Establishment. The brief was given on a need to know basis because of the potential impact on submarine operations if a similar issue arose on an in-service submarine. He was also briefed that there was no safety or environmental risk.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of potential effects of the five additional Reaper remotely-piloted aircraft systems procured under an urgent operational requirement on the final part of the armed forces redundancy programme.

Mark Francois: There will be no redundancies in the final phase of the programme associated with the introduction into service of Reaper Remotely Piloted Air System.

UN Commission on the Status of Women

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to highlight the importance of women in the workplace at the forthcoming discussions on decent work at the UN Commission on the Status of Women 2014.

Helen Grant: On 11 March the UK delivered its national statement at the EU Commission on the Status of Women. The statement drew attention to the need for more women to be empowered and achieve economic independence. We took the opportunity to highlight the importance of enabling more women and girls to participate in education and training, preparing them for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers.
	At the Commission the Minister for Women and Equalities, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), co-hosted an international event with Glaxo SmithKline and the Tanzanian Government, specifically to promote women working in STEM industries.
	A panel session entitled ‘The transition of women from education to full employment and decent work, with a particular focus on employment in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)’ was held at the UN on 18 March. UK officials attended the session.

World War I: Anniversaries

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what type of wreath or floral tribute the Government will use in official ceremonies to commemorate the outbreak of the First World War.

Helen Grant: The Government is currently considering the exact details of the commemoration of the outbreak, and all other forthcoming anniversaries, of the first world war. This includes floral tributes, wreaths and other commemorative tributes.

Cable Systems

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the approved cables initiative; and whether he has considered bringing forward legislative proposals to ensure that only cables compliant with British, European or International standards which carry a third-party certificate are sold in the UK.

Michael Fallon: I am aware of the objectives of the Approved Cables Initiative and have previously been made aware of the concerns of the cable industry. To help address these concerns, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has undertaken an assessment of the state of the UK market and determined that although there was lack of awareness of the existing product safety legislation, there was not significant evidence of unsafe cables.
	There is robust product safety legislation relating to cables, requiring them to be safe. Safety is determined on the basis of good engineering practice. Manufacturers self-assess their conformity with the legislation. The principle of the legislation is that use of a standard is not mandatory. However, manufacturers have the option of using relevant standards to demonstrate that their products are compliant with the requirements of the legislation. The legislation forms part of the European legislation regulating the internal market; additional legislative requirements, such as for third-party testing, would constitute an unlawful technical barrier to trade.

Green Investment Bank

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with local authorities on promoting the Green Investment Bank's new green loan scheme;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Green Investment Bank on the uptake of the new green loan scheme by local authorities.

Michael Fallon: I am currently exploring with the Green Investment Bank how this Department can help promote implementation of energy efficiency measures within the public sector generally, including helping to raise awareness of the Green Investment Bank's new Green Loan facility as a means of financing such measures.

Intellectual Property

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that registered intellectual property is used productively; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) provides support and information to business on how to make the most of all forms of intellectual property (IP), whether registered or unregistered. In 2013 the IPO launched ‘IP for Business’, a set of training tools and advice to help businesses understand IP and how it can be used within a business to generate revenue. The IPO also funds 300 IP audits, targeted through partners at high growth businesses. These audits provide businesses with a detailed report, created by an IP expert, to help them develop an IP management strategy to make sure they get maximum value from their IP.

Investment: Northern Ireland

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will hold discussions with the Northern Ireland Enterprise Minister on potential economic effects of private sector investment into the Northern Ireland economy by companies located in the South East of England.

Matthew Hancock: The UK Government is working with the Northern Ireland Executive to stimulate inward investment. Over 700 foreign investors have chosen Northern Ireland because it is an excellent place to do business, benefiting from a competitive environment, highly educated workforce and reliable infrastructure.
	The 2014 Budget also includes a number of measures which will further help Northern Ireland businesses to invest and export. Increases in the Annual Investment Allowance for all businesses and Enhanced Capital Allowances for a pilot Enterprise Zone near Coleraine will allow businesses to claim deductions in tax more quickly supporting them to invest and expand.

Patents

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the UK economy of patent trolls and patent assertion entities.

David Willetts: We have no current estimate of the annual cost to the UK economy. However, the UK Intellectual Property Office has commissioned work on patent litigation in the UK, as part of an international study. This included a review of actions by Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs) by Dr Luke McDonagh of London School of Economics. Its results showed that PAE actions in UK courts were usually unsuccessful and that their business model is not attractive if they have to run the risk of costs after losing. Fewer than a dozen cases reached the UK courts in the period 2000-08. This is a much smaller proportion than the 'troll' litigation evident in the USA.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the Offshore Wind Industrial Strategy, which higher education and professional institutions are including more offshore wind specific content in engineering courses.

Michael Fallon: The National Skills Academy for Power, reports six further education colleges are in discussions to include offshore wind content in their engineering courses.

Minimum Wage: Northern Ireland

William McCrea: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many fines have been imposed to employers in Northern Ireland since 2012 for not paying the national minimum wage.

David Gauke: The Government takes the enforcement of NMW very seriously and HMRC enforce the national minimum wage legislation on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). It does that by investigating all complaints made about employers suspected of not paying the minimum wage, in addition carrying out targeted enforcement where it identifies a high risk of non-payment of NMW across the whole of the UK.
	Prior to 6 April 2009, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) issued penalty notices to those employers who failed to comply, within 28 days, with an enforcement notice. A new enforcement regime, introduced in April 2009, saw the introduction of automatic penalties for employers who are found to have underpaid their workers.
	The number and value of penalties issued to Northern Ireland employers in the financial year 2012-13 is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Number Value (£) 
			 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 28 38,357

Tobacco: Smuggling

William McCrea: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the loss of revenue arising from cigarette smuggling across the land border with the Republic of Ireland.

Nicky Morgan: The information requested is not available.
	Estimates of total revenue losses associated with the cigarette illicit market for the UK are published in ‘Tobacco Tax Gap estimates: 2012-13'. These estimates cannot be disaggregated by country or by the type of illicit activity e.g. through smuggling, counterfeiting or other fraud.
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/tax-gaps/ttg-2013.pdf

Children: Diabetes

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department gives to teachers and teaching support staff on supporting children with type one diabetes.

Edward Timpson: Non-statutory guidance, Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Settings, is available to schools to help them manage medicines and supporting children with medical needs.
	From September 2014, there will be a new duty, (introduced in the Children and Families Act 2014), on governing bodies of maintained schools (and proprietors of academies) to make arrangements to support pupils at school with medical conditions and to have regard to statutory guidance. The guidance (upon which we have consulted publicly) will set out the requirements on schools to support children with medical conditions, which we would expect them to apply to conditions like diabetes.

Children: Diabetes

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what training schemes his Department has in place to enable teachers to support children who have type one diabetes.

Edward Timpson: The training of school staff to support pupils with medical conditions is a matter for schools, However, the Department for Education fully expects them to be aware of and understand the needs of pupils with medical conditions such as diabetes, and to put arrangements in place to provide effective support. This should include ensuring that school staff receive suitable training.
	From September 2014, there will be a new duty, (introduced in the Children and Families Act 2014), on governing bodies of maintained schools (and proprietors of academies) to make arrangements to support pupils at school with medical conditions and to have regard to statutory guidance. The guidance (upon which we have consulted publicly) will set out the requirements on schools to support children with medical conditions, which we would expect them to apply to conditions like diabetes. The guidance will set out expectations in respect of staff training.

Education: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils in (a) Denton and Reddish constituency, (b) Stockport Metropolitan borough and (c) Tameside metropolitan borough council continued into (i) further education, (ii) higher education and (ii) apprenticeships in the last five years for which figures are available.

Matthew Hancock: Destination Measures data, following key stage 4 and key stage 5, are published at local authority level for the years 2009/10 and 2010/11. Parliamentary constituency level data are published for 2010/11 only. The requested data, for the available years, are shown in the tables. The information is taken from Statistical First Release data, which is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-destinations
	
		
			 Destination measures for key stage 4 and key stage 5, 2009/10 and 2010/11 
			 Local authority level 
			 Key stage 4 Percentage going into a sustained1 destination 
			 Cohort2 year Destination3 year Local authority Number of students4 School sixth form Further education5 Of which: apprenticeships6 Higher education7 
			 2008/09 2009/10 Stockport 3,000 5 78 6 0 
			   Tameside 2,940 7 75 7 0 
			         
			 2009/10 2010/11 Stockport 2,970 4 81 9 0 
			   Tameside 2,880 8 76 8 x 
		
	
	
		
			 Key stage 5 Percentage going into a sustained1 destination 
			 Cohort8 year Destination9 year Local authority Number of students4 School sixth form Further education5 Of which: apprenticeships6 Higher education7 
			 2008/09 2009/10 Stockport 2,060 x 11 3 56 
			   Tameside 1,250 0 8 2 54 
			         
			 2009/10 2010/11 Stockport 2,130 — 11 5 53 
			   Tameside 1,380 — 11 5 49 
		
	
	
		
			 Parliamentary constituency level 
			 Key stage 4 Percentage going into a sustained1 destination 
			 Cohort2 year Destination3 year Parliamentary constituency Number of students4 School sixth form Further education5 Of which: apprenticeships6 Higher education7 
			 2009/10 2010/11 Denton and Reddish 1,240 12 72 9 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Key stage 5 Percentage going into a sustained1 destination 
			 Cohort8 year Destination9 year Parliamentary constituency Number of students4 School sixth form Further education5 Of which: apprenticeships6 Higher education7 
			 2009/10 2010/11 Denton and Reddish 170 2 3 3 73 
			 “x” means the value is suppressed due to small numbers. “—” means the percentage is less than 0.5% but greater than 0% 1 Sustained participation for the first two terms, October to March. 2 All students who are in state-funded mainstream schools and are at the end of key stage 4 and compulsory schooling. 3 The year following the end of key stage 4. 4 Number of students in the cohort for the stated year and key stage rounded to the nearest 10. 5 Further education includes further education colleges, sixth-form colleges and other further education providers. 6 All apprenticeships are also reported in the school sixth form and further education columns. Apprenticeships are identified where any qualifying learning has occurred at any time during the October to March participation period. 7 Higher education includes students at higher education institutions or undertaking higher education provision at a further education college. 8 All students who entered an A level or other level 3 qualification. This includes all level 3 qualifications i.e. general or applied A levels, AS examinations or other level 3 qualifications. These students are mostly academic age 17. There is also a number of students of academic age 16 and 18 in the cohort. 9 The year following Key Stage 5. Source: National Pupil Database.

Education: Yorkshire and the Humber

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and Humber continued into (i) further education, (ii) higher education and (iii) apprenticeships in the last five years for which figures are available.

Matthew Hancock: Destination Measures data, following key stage 4 and key stage 5, are published at local authority level for the years 2009/10 and 2010/11. Parliamentary constituency level data are published for 2010/11 only.
	The requested data, for the available years, are shown in the tables.
	The information is taken from Statistical First Release data, which is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-destinations
	
		
			 Destination measures for key stage 4 and key stage 5, 2009/10 and 2010/11 
			 Regional level 
			 Key stage 4 Percentage going into a sustained1 destination 
			 Cohort2 year Destination3 year Region Number of students4 School sixth form Further education5 Of which: apprenticeships6 Higher education7 
			 2008/09 2009/10 Yorkshire and Humber 59,960 32 50 6 x 
			 2009/10 2010/11 Yorkshire and Humber 59,400 33 50 7 — 
		
	
	
		
			 Key stage 5 Percentage going into a sustained1 destination 
			 Cohort8 year Destination9 year Region Number of students4 School sixth form Further education5 Of which: apprenticeships6 Higher education7 
			 2008/09 2009/10 Yorkshire and Humber 29,740 1 11 3 53 
			 2009/10 2010/11 Yorkshire and Humber 33,110 2 12 4 49 
		
	
	
		
			 Parliamentary constituency level 
			 Key stage 4 Percentage going into a sustained1 destination 
			 Cohort2 year Destination3 year Parliamentary constituency Number of students4 School sixth form Further education5 Of which: apprenticeships6 Higher education7 
			 2009/10 2010/11 Brigg and Goole 1,060 9 77 6 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Key stage 5 Percentage going into a sustained1 destination 
			 Cohort8 year Destination9 year Parliamentary constituency Number of students4 School sixth form Further education5 Of which: apprenticeships6 Higher education7 
			 2009/10 2010/11 Brigg and Goole 80 19 9 4 42 
			 “x” means the value is suppressed due to small numbers. “—” means the percentage is less than 0.5% but greater than 0% 1 Sustained participation for the first two terms, October to March. 2 All students who are in state-funded mainstream schools and are at the end of key stage 4 and compulsory schooling. 3 The year following the end of key stage 4. 4 Number of students in the cohort for the stated year and key stage rounded to the nearest 10. 5 Further education includes further education colleges, sixth-form colleges and other further education providers. 6 All apprenticeships are also reported in the school sixth form and further education columns. Apprenticeships are identified where any qualifying learning has occurred at any time during the October to March participation period. 7 Higher education includes students at higher education institutions or undertaking higher education provision at a further education college. 8 All students who entered an A level or other level 3 qualification. This includes all level 3 qualifications i.e. general or applied A levels, AS examinations or other level 3 qualifications. These students are mostly academic age 17. There is also a number of students of academic age 16 and 18 in the cohort. 9 The year following Key Stage 5. Source: National Pupil Database.

Free School Meals: Lancashire

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children in (a) Pendle constituency and (b) Lancashire were eligible for but did not claim free school meals in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Laws: The Department for Education routinely collects information on pupils who are both eligible for and claiming free school meals. This information is published in the 'Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2013' Statistical First Release1. Information on the number of pupils who are eligible for free school meals but do not claim them is not collected by the Department.
	The Department has published a research paper 'Pupils not claiming free school meals: 2013'2 which presents estimates of the numbers and proportions of pupils who are entitled to receive free school meals but are not claiming. The paper compares registration rates for children aged between 4 and 15 and highlights regions and local authorities where under-registration rates are high. Figures from this paper show the under-registration rate for Lancashire local authority is 6% compared with an England average of 11%.
	1 Available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2013
	2 Available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupils-not-claiming-free-school-meals-2013

Free Schools

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of faith free schools opened to date have met the 50 per cent target of children and young people attending the school who do not belong to that faith.

Edward Timpson: There is no target for the proportion of children attending a free school who do not belong to the designated faith of such a school. When over-subscribed, faith designated free schools may take account of faith in allocating up to 50% of their places. The remaining places must be allocated on the basis of over-subscription criteria not related to faith, and may be filled by pupils of the faith, other faiths or none.

Headteachers

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of maintained schools have changed their headteacher since September 2011.

David Laws: The information requested is not held centrally.

Headteachers

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of maintained schools that have opened since September 2011 have changed their headteacher since that date.

David Laws: The information requested is not held centrally.

Headteachers

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of free schools have changed their headteacher since opening.

Edward Timpson: The information requested is not held centrally.

Headteachers

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of state-funded schools that have opened since September 2011 have changed their headteacher since opening.

David Laws: The information requested is not held centrally.

School Information (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the implementation of The School Information (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012. [R]

David Laws: Ofsted routinely checks school websites before inspections. If a parent, or other party, believes that a school is not complying with the requirements, they are entitled to raise this with the governing body. If their complaint is not resolved and they believe that the school has failed to discharge its duty or acted unreasonably, they can raise their complaint with the Secretary of State.

Teachers: Training

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what further information he will give to initial teacher training providers about candidates who were incorrectly notified that they had failed the professional skills test.

David Laws: The Professional Skills Test results database has been updated to reflect the change in outcome for those candidates who were incorrectly notified that they had failed their Skills Test. Initial Teacher Training (ITT) providers have access to this database.
	Any candidate affected in this way was instructed to contact the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) if they wanted to discuss their options.
	The STA have also written to all providers of ITT courses to inform them of the issue.

Teachers: Training

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to offer compensation to initial teacher training applicants who have been wrongly advised that they failed the professional skills test and denied the opportunity to train as teachers.

David Laws: The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) has written to candidates who were incorrectly notified that they had failed the Professional Skills Tests and provided a helpline number to contact should they wish to discuss their options or seek support.

Teachers: Training

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools in Brigg and Goole constituency participate in the Schools Direct Programme.

David Laws: Our records show that there are no School Direct lead schools located in the parliamentary constituency of Brigg and Goole.
	However, many School Direct lead schools work in partnership with other schools to deliver the programme.

Nurseries

Lucy Powell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of workplace nurseries available to staff in (a) his Department and (b) his Department's executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies in (i) 2010, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.

Francis Maude: The Government's child care offer will provide flexible support for all eligible working families while maintaining a free, universal early education support. Alongside this, the Government is also taking action to drive up the supply of high quality child care provision and to open up more choice for parents.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West on 3 March 2014, Official Report, column 664W.

Abortion

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Salisbury of 28 February 2014, Official Report, column 569W, on abortion, what process the Chief Medical Officer follows to detect discrepancies in abortion notifications; and what resources the Chief Medical Officer has for that task.

Jane Ellison: Departmental officials inspect and record the information received on the HSA4 abortion notification form, carry out validation checks and return forms to practitioners for additional information as necessary. Additionally, selected forms are scrutinised by a departmental medical practitioner who may request further detail from the patients' medical records via the terminating doctor. Information about checks made by the Department is contained in the publication ‘Department of Health checks made on HSA4 forms for data quality and monitoring the Abortion Act’, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
	During 2013-14, there were five people involved full-time in processing and validating the abortion notification forms sent to the Chief Medical Officer.

Health: Equality

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress his Department has made on implementing the recommendations of the Marmot Review on health inequalities in England.

Jane Ellison: We accepted the findings of ‘Fair Society, Healthy Lives - the strategic review of health inequalities in England post 2010’ (the Marmot Review) in the public health white paper ‘Healthy Lives, Healthy People’ (2010).
	The review identified a social gradient in health—where the lower a person's position, the worse his or her health. Action, it said, should focus on reducing the gradient—and be proportionate to the level of disadvantage. We have adopted this approach. For example, in our maternal and child health programmes by increasing by 50% the number of health visitors by 2015, and more than doubling the number of places on the Family Nurse Partnership programme, which supports vulnerable first-time mothers.
	We also helped establish and sponsor the UCL Institute of Health Equity—led by Professor Sir Michael Marmot. The Institute is continuing to develop the evidence on health inequalities, promote good practice and support policy development to help deliver this agenda.
	We are putting health inequalities—and the poor health outcomes that result—at the heart of everything we do across the health system, working with Public Health England and NHS England, and backed it by new legal health inequalities duties.

Health: Equality

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that the recommendations of the Marmot Review on health inequalities in England are being implemented across all relevant Government Departments.

Jane Ellison: We accepted the findings of ‘Fair Society, Healthy Lives - the strategic review of health inequalities in England post 2010’ (the Marmot Review) in the public health white paper ‘Healthy Lives, Healthy People’ (2010). These findings apply across all Government Departments; given the link between social circumstances, health and health inequalities.
	We have used the review—and the priorities it identified —to support our work with colleagues across government to reinvigorate action on child poverty; raise educational attainment; support families; improve social mobility and promote work as a route out of poverty. These steps will help people take control over their own lives, fulfil their potential and reduce health inequalities.
	We sponsor and fund the UCL Institute of Health Equity—led by Professor Sir Michael Marmot—to build the evidence on health inequalities and support government and local systems implement the review's findings.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will commission a national survey of investment in mental health services in 2013-14;
	(2)  when he plans to publish data on mental health spending in 2012-13;
	(3)  what progress he has made on extending patient choice of provider of mental health services.

Norman Lamb: The Department has no plans to commission a national survey of investment in mental health services for 2013-14. The Department stopped commissioning the national surveys of investment in mental health services in 2012 as the new landscape for health services and the abolition of primary care trusts and strategic health authorities prevented continuation of these surveys in their existing format. The Department is committed to reducing the data burden placed on organisations and has no plans to commission any further surveys of this type.
	NHS England published expenditure data for 2012-13 on 21 February 2014 which shows expenditure on mental health in 2012-13 was £11.28 billion. This information is available on their website at:
	www.england.nhs.uk/resources/resources-for-ccgs/prog-budgeting/
	and the document has been placed in the Library.
	Ensuring patients have more say in how their care is delivered and embedding choice are key themes in the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to ensure we put the patient first and drive improvements in quality. As part of this, ‘No decision about me, without me’ (2012) set out the Government's intention to extend choice to mental health.
	The National Health Service Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups (Responsibilities and Standing Rules) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 were published in November 2013 to extend the legal right to choice of provider at first out-patient appointment in mental health from 1 April 2014.
	Extending choice to mental health from April is also a priority in ‘Closing the Gap: Priorities for essential change in mental health’ (2014), to enable patients to choose which provider and consultant or mental health professional will be in charge of their care for their first out-patient appointment. The ‘NHS Mandate 2014/15’ commits NHS England to ensure patients' rights to choice are embedded by 2015.
	We held the third Choice in Mental Health Workshop on 12 March 2014 where we set out the critical steps required to start implementing choice from 1 April 2014 and the programme of work to deliver the NHS Mandate commitment to embed choice in mental health by 2015.

Tuberculosis

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to find new treatments to tackle multidrug-resistant TB; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Over the past 12 years, gradual increases in the proportion of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) cases in the United Kingdom has amounted to a significant upward trend, from 0.7% (25/3529) in 2001, to 1.6% (81/5,151) in 2012. The proportion of MDR-TB cases remained stable at 1.6% (81 cases).
	The World Health Organization has stated that elimination of TB will depend on new diagnostics and more effective drugs and vaccines. Several international initiatives have generated a pipeline of potential new antimicrobials, and Bedaquiline is now available for MDR-TB.
	As part of the UK's 2013 strategy to address antimicrobial resistance we are seeking to identify a sustainable model to incentivise research and development into new antibiotics, diagnostics and novel therapies, which balances conservation and commercial incentives to build support with international partners to deliver this model in practice.
	The current vaccine, BCG, is generally safe, but has variable efficacy globally (0-80%). The introduction of new effective TB vaccines is an essential component of the global strategy to eliminate tuberculosis by 2050 (UN Millennium Goal 6C). There are a number of novel TB vaccine candidates under development which will need to be tested through a hierarchy of preclinical models of increasing complexity. Similar models are also being applied to the evaluation of new drugs.

Tuberculosis

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of multidrug-resistant TB were recorded in each region in the last three years.

Jane Ellison: The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in the United Kingdom is assessed through systematic analysis of notification data obtained from the Enhanced Tuberculosis Surveillance System run by Public Health England (PHE).
	In 2012, a total of 81 multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) cases were reported in the UK, 84 MDR-TB cases were reported in 2011, and 66 MDR-TB cases were reported in 2010. A breakdown of MDR-TB cases by PHE region and country for the period 2010-2012 is provided in the following table.
	
		
			 PHE region/country 2010 2011 2012 Total 
			 PHE region     
			 London 29 34 36 99 
			 Midlands and East of 14 24 21 59 
			 North of England 15 15 12 42 
			 South of England 6 6 9 21 
		
	
	
		
			      
			 Country     
			 England 64 79 78 221 
			 Northern Ireland 1 2 0 3 
			 Wales 0 1 1 2 
			 Scotland 1 2 2 5 
			 United Kingdom 66 84 81 231 
			 Source: PHE Enhanced Tuberculosis Surveillance (ETS), Scottish Enhanced Surveillance of Mycobacterial Infections (ESMI).

Hereditary Peers

Frank Field: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will introduce legislative proposals to provide that the heirs of people who disclaim hereditary peerages cannot claim any hereditary right to membership of the House of Lords; and if he will publish details of how many people entitled to hereditary peerages have renounced their titles where their oldest eligible son has subsequently claimed the title on their death.

Nicholas Clegg: The Government's proposals introduced to the House of Commons on 10 July 2012 included plans to end hereditary peerages altogether. The Government has no further specific plans to legislate in this area. Currently anyone in this position has every right to disclaim the title should they so wish.
	Eighteen people have disclaimed their titles since the passage of the 1963 Peerage Act, the first being the late Tony Benn. Of those disclaimed peerages, seven have subsequently been claimed by the entitled heir.

Returning Officers: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will amend the guidance given to the Electoral Commission on whether prohibiting public officials who are suspended or under criminal investigation retain their responsibilities as returning officers.

Greg Clark: The Government does not provide guidance to the Electoral Commission on the status of returning officers.